The Nourri Au Fourrage was a solid drinkable stout. It poured an opaque black with tan head that left some lacing. The scent and taste bordered espresso. The mouthfeel was fuller in body with smooth carbonation. Overall it was very good.

Pours a dark chestnut color with a bountiful head of coarse, khaki foam. Aroma smells of citric hops, roasted malt, and milk chocolate.

The taste is quite mild, consisting of some grapefruit and roasted malt. Much of the flavor is overriden by the intense carbonation, which combines with the light body to make for a very thin, spritzy mouthfeel. The whole “milk stout” aspect is largely lost on me.

Overall, this is a mild, sessionable stout that’s missing much of what I enjoy most about stouts. It reminds me quite a bit of Smuttynose Durty, which isn’t a stout at all. I’ve tried several of Solemn Oath’s offerings, and this is the first one that has really let me down.

I wanted to like this, but its not a milk/sweet stout. Its a Black IPA. I know Solemn Oath likes to use a lot of hops in their beer, but I wish they would let some of the softer, malty notes come forward in this one. Instead, I just got bitter hops that overwhelmed the other flavors of the beer.

I won't get this again, but if you like Black IPAs, you may want to give this a shot. If you let this one sit for 6 months, I bet some of the hop bitterness may fade a bit.

On tap at Blue Moon in Madison, Wisconsin. Served in a snifter glass 11/23/2014.

A- Dark coffee-brown body, two finger offwhite head with excellent retention time. Not much in way of lacing. It essentially looks as expected from a milk stout. [3.75]

S- Bold, intense roasted malt aromas whack me in the face along with a dollop of coffee beans. A bit of milk chocolate comes out as the beer warms up as well. Not a lot of subtlety, but certainly has a strong roast component. [3.75]

F- As in the nose, there is a lot of roast on the palate with bitter whole coffee beans and a bit of smoke. Unfortunately, it seems to overpower the lactose sweetness that I anticipated would balance out the bitter roasty flavours on the front end. While this is tasty- who doesn't like roasted malt and coffee? -it is really missing significant balance here. [3.5]

M- Medium bodied, creamy and slick, even a bit sticky. For a 5% ABV milk stout, it takes a while to drink because of its relative lack of balance overall. Finish is driven by bitter coffee-like flavours. [3.75]

O- Unbalanced to be sure, I was missing a bit of sweetness to help balance out the large amounts of roast and smoke that I taste in this beer. It made it more difficult than it should have been for me to drink this beer, despite how much I enjoy that roasted flavour in porters and stouts. [3.25]

O: Someone tried making a black IPA but dropped their chocolate frappuccino in the batch. It was good, and I can't fault them too much because the bottle's description was accurate, except for the listed style. I was braced for it, and I enjoyed it.

Enjoyed by me on tap at Chef Paul’s Bavarian Lodge in Lisle, Illinois July 26th, 2012 in the presence of my brother in law Mat. I believe the place had been renamed simply “Bavarian Lodge” but I still refer to it as “Chef Paul’s.” By any name this is a world class BeerAdvocate place. Anyone reading this should seek it out.
Review from notes taken while I enjoyed the beer.

A Hge head, creamy, dark brown. No light gets through the body of this beer. I have always been greatly impressed by the look of beers like this. 4.5

S Dark roast malt but somewhat thin. 4.0

T The dark roast malt is there but the thin smell that I picked up carried right over into the taste. Not that impressive for a Milk Stout which I particularly expect to carry with it a nice creamy thick body. 3.0

On tap at Biggbys Pour House. Served in a North Coast Brewing pint glass.

Appears black in the glass. Fully opaque. Served with about a half inch or so of dark tan head that slowly reduced to a patchy surface coating. Leaves some moderate clumpy lacing. Aroma is full of chocolate, cocoa, and roasted malts with a hint of vanilla. Flavor is similar to the aroma, but with more emphasis on the roasty malts and some citrusy hops. Finishes with a fleeting sweetness and then a hint of char. Full bodied, but not heavy. Mild to moderate bitterness. Overall, a nice beer.

My final (draft) beer of this excursion is gonna be another Solemn Oath brew. I have zero problem with this. It pours a straight onyx topped by a finger of very light sienna foam. The nose comprises dark chocolate, very light molasses, and roasted malts. The taste brings in more of the same, with a sort of barbecue-style roastiness hanging over the proceedings, as though some pork (bacon?) had been smoked nearby whilst this was brewed, the air's essence captured forever in the keg until consumption released it for my tongue to behold. Right on. The body is a stolid medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry-ish finish. Overall, a highly enjoyable, very tasty, and easily drinkable milk stout. This is easily my favorite SO beer thus far, and I hope to see more from them sooner rather than later.